


Soy un Prededor

by Katsy0c0



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, Alternate Universe - College/University, F/M, Fluff, Mutual Pining, One Shot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-11-05
Updated: 2015-11-05
Packaged: 2018-04-30 03:19:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,531
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5148338
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Katsy0c0/pseuds/Katsy0c0
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>This is the story of how Annie Leonhardt died.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Soy un Prededor

**Author's Note:**

  * For [lionhart](https://archiveofourown.org/users/lionhart/gifts).



“Tall soy caramel macchiato for Annie!”A familiar, bright voice called as she waited at the end of the Starbucks counter. “And a grande vanilla lattè for Mikasa.”

Annie slipped her coffee into the holder, and looked up to meet the big blue eyes of Armin Arlert. He smiled, and she returned the favor with a suspicious raising of the eyebrow.

Everything about Armin Arlert was suspicious. The way he so casually sat next to her during their classes. The way he smiled at her every time they passed each other on campus. The way he made little comments under his breath during class that came close to making her laugh out in the middle of a lecture. The way he knew her coffee orders before Annie even got the chance to say it.

And, of course, the little messages he wrote on the cups, every time, without fail. As she walked away from the counter, she turned the cup over to see todays.

_“I hope you’re able to laugh today!”_

Punctuated with a crudely drawn little smiley face and a flower. It was usually little animals or stars. It seemed his tactics were evolving.

“Over here,” Mikasa called, pulling out a chair near a very tired looking Sasha. Annie sat down across, blowing at the opening of her coffee lid as she pulled her laptop out of her bag. Students rushed in and out of the campus starbucks, pushing and shoving each other as they took their place in the congested line. The fact that the girls were even able to find a table was a miracle in itself.

For a moment, she turned her gaze back to the counter. Armin and Eren had switched, it seemed, as now Eren was the one making the drinks as Armin worked the register.

“Oy,” She heard Mikasa snap, and Annie’s attention was back to the task at hand. Whatever it was. “I asked if you finished your portion of the presentation.”

“Yeah, yeah, sorry, gimme a sec.” Pushing her blonde bangs out of her face, Annie hastily logged in and sent it to her project partners. The sooner it was off her hands, the better. Her hands went back to her cooling cup of coffee, but the moment she put it to her lips, she paused. “Hey, Mikasa, let me see your cup.”

Before Mikasa could even respond, Annie grabbed the drink out of her hands and examined it, brows furrowed. She rotated the cup in her hands, twice over as she couldn’t find what she was looking for.

“Annie, I know you have to suffer through that soy shit, but like, please don’t live vicariously through my coffee.” Mikasa’s tone remained level, her face completely straight as she waited for Annie to hand her drink back. Either that, or the perfect opportunity to snatch it. Luckily, Annie slid it back her way.

“You don’t have a message on yours?” Of course she already knew the answer, but it bothered her none the less. Sasha perked up a bit, and happily grabbed her cup to read said message.

“Ah, damn, I don’t have one either.” Sasha took a pouty sip of her hot chocolate.

“Hm.” Annie leaned forward in her seat, staring at the little message on her cup. “So it’s not some weird policy only enforced in the past few months. Mikasa. You’re close with Arlert, right?”

“Something like that.” She mumbled in response, typing away at her laptop, the bite of sarcasm in her voice obvious to Annie. Still, she went on with the subject.

“So, what the hell’s this?”

Mikasa reluctantly looked up from her computer, taking the cup from Annie with a sigh. Sasha peeked on over, reading it along with the other girl. Slowly, knowing grins pulled at their lips.

“And you get these every time he’s your barista?”

“Yeah.”

“Hm.” Mikasa and Sasha both leaned forward, getting ever so slightly into Annie’s confused face. “Have you ever considered the possibility he’s trying to send you a message?”

Annie cocked an eyebrow. What kind of message would he be sending? She thought back on the messages she’d received since the semester started.

_“Gorgeous day, gorgeous smile!”_

_“Have a great day, Ms. Beautiful Blues!”_

_“A coffee a day keeps the sleep away.”_

_“Sit next to me in class tomorrow?”_

_“Your laugh is like music to my ears.”_

Slowly, she could feel her face heat up. Without a hint of stealth, she turned to glare right in his direction. There at the register he stood, blond hair falling into his wide blue eyes as he smiled at the next customer in line. That same smile he gave when he answered a question in class no one else would. And that same damn smile he gave every time he saw her.

There was pull at her chest. Before he could meet her eyes, she turned back to the two other girls at the table. No, he couldn’t be sending her signals. Not the type she, for a split second, was hoping he was. Why would he? It made no sense. What was there he could possibly be attracted to, she wondered. Her dry sense of humor, defensive posture and body language, or amazing ability to sleep through a class and still pass?

“Oh my god,” She mumbled, meeting the eyes of her expectant acquaintances. “Is he trying to fight me?”

The smiles on their faces dropped.

“Uh, no, Annie, that’s not,” Mikasa bit her lip, looking at Sasha for a moment and trying her damned best to keep down her laugh. “That’s not even a little close.”

“You know Annie,” Sasha began, sipping at her drink. “When Connie wanted to ask me out, he’d leave sticky notes on my door every morning.”

“Eren used to slip me free cake pops from behind the counter.” Mikasa added, folding her arms as Annie’s eyes turned to the side.

“That’s assuming a hell of a lot.” She replied, playing with the bangs that fell in front of her eyes. “And _he’s_ assuming a hell of a lot, if that’s the case.”

“Oh, give it up Annie, everyone knows you’ve got it bad.” Sasha snickered, accompanied by a nod from Mikasa. “At least _his_ attempts at flirting with _you_ are a little less awkward.”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about.” She took a big gulp of her coffee, unfortunately unaware of just how hot it still was. However, her pride wasn’t about to be shot down, and she kept her face stone. “That’s your problem if you think anything I’ve done constitutes in any way as flirting or some weird attempt to grab his attention.”

“Annie, you spent the entirety of European History last semester throwing paper clips at the back of his head so he’d turn around and notice you.”

Annie’s cheeks were noticeably pink.

“Mikasa, I’m going to throw more than just paper clips at the both of you if you don’t shut up.”

* * *

If there was one thing Annie realized over that next week of coasting finals and projects, it was that Armin Arlert was smooth. Scarily smooth.

Also, that maybe, just maybe, Mikasa and Sasha were right. She may have mistaken suspicion for a genuine, honest and true, crush. Of course, when she brought it up with Reiner and Bertholdt, they started laughing so hard that talking to them became impossible.

“How many people know I have a crush on him, exactly??” She asked, arms folded as they finally calmed down.

“Everyone except you and Armin, apparently!”

It was certainly a week of discovery.

And one of avoidance. Dealing with the disgusting Dining Hall coffee was worth the risk of embarrassing herself in front of him. Or worse, unintentionally scaring him.

Jesus, was she angry at Mikasa for making her aware of these feelings. Even in class she became painfully self-aware and self-conscious about everything she did as he simply sat next to her.

“Do you want me to talk to him for you?” Mikasa asked, as the two sat in Annie and Sasha’s dorm.

“No,” Annie’s short response was muffled significantly by the pillow she buried her face in. “Never.”

“He likes you, too.”

“Hrrmpphh.”

“How can you still deny that after three months of cutesy coffee cup messages?”

“Humhhr.”

Mikasa sighed, pulling the pillow right out from under Annie’s head. “Please don’t suffocate, we need you to finish this project.”

“Mikasa, I don’t get it,” Annie lifted her head up, running her fingers through her unbrushed hair. “He’s so fucking cute. I actually stay awake in the classes I have with him. I spent the entirety of Ymir’s Halloween party discussing the best ways to dispose of a body with him. And he’s so fucking cute. How did I miss this for so long?”

“Well I’m no psychologist here, but you are someone who generally doesn’t like to, whether purposefully or unintentionally, show a lot of emotion.” Mikasa’s eyes wandered around the room, and couldn’t help but note Annie had kept last week’s coffee cup on her night stand. “Maybe even you yourself are unable to decipher your inner feelings now, after years of being so guarded.”

“Damn. That was deep.”

“I know.”

“So what do I do, go back to throwing paper clips?”

“Talk to him.” Mikasa repeated, raising her low voice ever so slightly. “I said it before and I’ll say it again. He likes you too.”

Within ten minutes Mikasa had dragged Annie out of their dorms and toward the Starbucks down the path. The weather was growing cold, and Annie cursed her friend for not letting her grab a scarf or gloves. Or put makeup on. Or brush her hair.

Were they going to see anyone other than Armin, she wouldn’t care. But as they stepped into the cafe, she wanted to die.  

On the bright side, the place was deserted by Starbucks standards. A few people sat on the couches or scrolled their laptops on tables, but the line was empty, and the only sound to fill the room was the coffee machines in the back and some indie hipster Pandora station playing over the loudspeakers.

As expected, Eren and Armin were working behind the counter. Eren organized receipts at the register, obviously bored as he flipped through the little pile he’d already finished. Armin distracted himself by cleaning the microwave toward the back.

“Hey!” Eren perked up the moment his eyes fell on Mikasa. On her end, Mikasa smiled softly and practically sped toward the counter. Annie dragged behind, reluctant to face this pressing issue.

Eren stole a kiss from Mikasa over the counter, and Annie wondered just how appropriate that was during work hours.

“Oh, hey Annie! Sorry, I didn’t see you there.” Eren’s cheeks were pink, as he had just barely broke away from Mikasa. She nodded at him in response, and couldn’t help but notice how the sound of her name caught Armin’s attention. He quickly stopped what he was doing, and turned around.

Annie’s blue eyes met his, and she quickly felt the heat creep up on her.

“Hey, Annie! Mikasa!” He smiled at the girls, but his eyes remained as glues to Annie as Eren’s were to Mikasa. “The usual-”

“Yeah,” Annie spoke up quickly, earning a look from the other couple. “Uh. I mean, yeah. Actually. No. I want a peppermint latte. Tall. Lots of whipped cream. Just sugar me on up.”  

“Okaaaaaay,” Eren murmured, raising an eyebrow as he checked off the specifics on her cup. He passed it off to Armin, and Annie made her move. She eyed him as he moved behind the counter, ducking down ever so slightly to keep cover.

He had a grin on his face as he worked on her order, gingerly mixing each blend together. She noticed he tapped his foot along with the music, and before she realized she was doing the same thing.

Finally, he put the cap on and grabbed the sharpie. Oh, it was a moment of  truth. His handwriting always made it seem like he had to write quickly, but he took his time. Ending, of course, with a little drawing. Was it going to be an animal, a flower, a star, or smiley face, she wondered.

Before she knew it, she was crouching down at the end of the counter where the drink pickup was, looking absolutely ridiculous to everyone in the surrounding area.

She cleared her throat, and stood up straight.

“Peppermint latte for Annie?” He asked, smiling sweetly as he slid the cup her way. Despite her disheveled appearance and frazzled emotions, she smiled back at him and whispered a thank you.

Armin turned to take care of Mikasa’s order, giving Annie the opportunity to read the little message he wrote.

_“You have the prettiest smile, and I hope I can bring it out more!”_

This time, punctuated with none of the previous options. Instead, right there at the end, was a big ol’ heart. Annie’s own heart felt like it was about to rip out of her chest. _Oh my god, he’s unreal._

Okay. Maybe he did like her back.

Mikasa appeared next to her to get her drink, and Annie looked back up to see Armin scratching his red cheeks. His smile was oddly sheepish, eyes downcast.

“You’re, uh,” He began, pushing his hair back as he took a breath. “You’re not gonna throw that in my face, are you? I hope I haven’t been coming on too strong, o-or creeping you out in anyway.”

Armin Arlert, you heartbreaker, you. Annie held her cup firm, and remained silent for an agonizingly long moment. Finally, she met his eyes again, cheeks burning scarlet as the tension became too much for her to handle.

Fuck policy, PDA was nothing new there. She put her coffee down and grabbed him by the tie, pulling him in for a kiss over the counter.

“Mm-!” He squeaked, but was quick to hold her face and kiss her back. It was sloppy, but sweet, and Annie was incredibly reluctant to part.

When they did, their foreheads rested against each other. Armin’s sheepish smile became bright as he let out a chuckle. Annie, on the other hand, felt butterflies in her stomach so intense it almost made her sick.

“...Aaahhhhhhh-” She groaned, and rested her head against his shoulder. “That was stupid. You’re working. I look like a bum. Your asshole friends are making faces...and singing disney.”

“Nooooo,” Armin teased, hugging her in close. “It’s okay. If you didn’t do it, I would have. To be honest, I’ve wanted to kiss you for a while, and- Annie why are you touching my face like that.”

“I don’t know. You’re really fucking cute and I can’t take it right now.” She sounded muffled, as her face was still nuzzled against his shoulder.

Armin simply laughed, grabbing her hands and tipping her chin up.

“We could always get dinner together after my shift is up?” He asked, stealing a kiss on her red nose. The corners of Annie’s lips pulled into a grin.

“Please. Preferably take out, in my dorm, over a movie?”

“Deal.”

**Author's Note:**

> I'd put this in my one shot collection if it weren't a gift for my friends birthday. Anyway, I hope you all enjoy this little piece of sill fluff! Happy birthday Amy! <3


End file.
